Patterning mechanism for circular knitting machines

ABSTRACT

MULTI-FEED CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE WITH INDIVIDUALLY OPERABLE NEEDLES CONTROLLED BY INSTRUMENTS HAVING PATTERNING BUTTS. BUTTS ARE IN SUPERIMPOSED PLANES AND OBLIQUE LINES AROUND NEEDLE CYLINDER. ASSOCIATED WITH EACH FEED IS A SELECTOR UNIT INCLUDING A BANK OF SELECTOR, SLIDES FOR ACTION ON THE BUTTS. SLIDES ARE ACTUATED SELECTIVELY AT DICTATES OF PROGRAMMED CONTROL MEDIA. A CAM ON THE NEEDLE CYLINDER ACTS ON PREVIOUSLY SELECTED SLIDES TO RETURN SAME TO INOPERATIVE POSITIONS PREPARATORY TO RE-SELECTION. TO PREVENT OVER-PROPELLING OF THE SLIDES IN EITHER DIRECTION, THEY ARE SO FRICTIONALLY ENGAGED IN COMBS AS TO BE LIGHTLY HELD IN POSITIONS TO WHICH THEY ARE MOVED.

E` L. FARMER C March 9,' 1971 PATTERNING MECHANISM FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Fileaea.- 12, 196e llllll.

Ivllllllll MarchQ, 1971 E. l.. FARMER 3,568,473

PATTERNING MECHANISM FQR-CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES 5 sheets-sheet 2 Filed Dec. 12, 1968 Mmh 9, 1911 E. L.; FARMER PATTERNING MECHANISM FOR CIRCJULAR KNITTING MACHINES med nec. 12. 196e l 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Mmh 9, 1971 E, L, FARMER 3,568,413

PATTERNING MECHANISM FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Dec. 12, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 C2 37 l //3I Q 245` ',ld'. 32

March 9, 71,971

PATTERNING MCHANISM FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Dec. 12, 1968 E. L. FARMER 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 til-1%?" 3,568,473 Patented Mar. 9, 1971 3,568,473 PATTERNING MECHANISM FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Ernest L. Farmer, Leicester, England, assignor to Wildt Mellor Bromley Limited, Leicester, England Filed Dec. 12, 1968, Ser. No. 783,268

Claims priority, application Great Britain, Jan. 24, 1968,

3,800/ 68 Int. Cl. D04b 15/68 TLS. Cl. 66-154 8 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE Multi-feed circular knitting machine with individually operable needles controlled by instruments having patterning butts. Butts are in superimposed planes and oblique lines around needle cylinder. Associated with each feed is a selector unit including a bank of selector slides for action on the butts. Slides are actuated selectively at dictates of programmed control media. A cam on the needle cylinder acts on previously selected slides to return same to inoperative positions preparatory to re-selection. To prevent over-propelling of the slides in either direction, they are so frictionally engaged in combs as to be lightly held in positions to which they are moved.

This invention appertains to patterning mechanism for multi-feed circular knitting machines, and is applicable particularly to such machines of the class equipped with individually operable needles and means for exercising selective and individual control over these needles, through the medium of patterning butts which, according to predetermined patterning requirements, are adapted either to be left undisturbed so as to permit operation or behaviour of the corresponding needles in a desired manner, or to be acted upon so that the relevant needles will either remain quiescent or be permitted to function in an alternative manner.

The expression patterning butts is used herein in a generic sense and is intended to be suiciently ybroad to cover not only the more usual case in which the butts are provided either on jacks or upon associated jack selecting elements separate from, but in the same needle cylinder tricks as, the needles, but also the more rare case in which the butts are on the needles themselves.

The invention, moreover, has reference exclusively to a patterning System of the kind wherein the patterning butts are located in a multiplicity of superimposed planes and disposed in oblique lines around the needle cylinder and which includes, in advance of each knitting station, or each relevant knitting station, as the case may be, a selector unit comprising, a bracket provided with a comb or combs and a bank of selector members so engaged with the comb or combs as to be individualy movable in the bracket, the said members being formed at their leading ends for action upon patterning butts in the aforementioned planes, and being adapted at their tail ends for cooperation with means whereby the selector members are actuated selectively at the dictates of programmed control media.

In one form of such a selector unit, the selector members consist of slides which are slidably engaged with spaced combs. Alternatively, the said members may be pivotally mounted in the bracket for turning movement within the comb or combs.

Thus, the selector member actuating means may, in one form, consist of at least one rotary control drum which is equipped with pattern-determining pins or bits and is adapted to be racked round under the influence of the programmed control media. In a more sophisticated form,

however, the said selector member-actuating means may comprise electro-magnetic actuators (eg. solenoids aud levers), operable by electrical or/and electronic switch means in turn influenced by signals or impulses derived from programming means movable in time with the r0- tary motion of the circular knitting machine.

The invention is applicable to a multi-feed circular knitting machine of the revolving needle cylinder type, in which case a plurality of circumferentially spaced selector units of the form referred to, each with its own control drum or its own stack of electro-magnetic actuators, would be suitably grouped at stationary locations around the cylinder. It is, however, primarily the intention to apply the invention to a multi-feed circular knitting machine of the stationary needle cylinder type in which preferred case the selector units move bodily around the needle cylinder in unison with the revolving cam box of the machine, and there is provided for selectively actuating the banks of selector members seriatim one control drum or one stack of electro-magnetic actuators, as the case may be. In this preferred Case, moreover, the selector member actuating means are selectively influenced a number of times per revolution of the machine corresponding to the number of selector units (and hence banks of selector members) as there are revolving together with the cam box.

Now in a pattern ssytem of the kind herein referred to each of the rectilinearly or pivotally movable members of each selector unit has heretofore been biassed by a tension spring, the selector member being arranged to be projected radially inwards against the action of the spring and to be retracted radially outwardly under the said action. But, in practice, such springs are not wholly satisfactory inasmuch as they tend to break and, as will be appreciated, the `breakage of but a single spring in one of the selector units can cause faulty patterning and, in any event, necessitates stoppage of the entire machine.

Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide generally improved and particularly simple and efficient means for automatically returning previously selected selector members of each bank to their outer positions preparatory to each re-selection of said members.

According to this invention there is provided on the needle cylinder, immediately in advance of the location at which a re-selection of the selector members of each selector unit is effected, a cam arranged for action upon the leading, i.e. inner, ends of previously selected members suchwise as to return the latter to their inoperative positions preparatory to re-selection.

Thus, in the improved arrangements the selector members are positively projected inwards into their operative positions by the pattern controlled selector member actuating means and are just as positively returned to their outward inoperative positions by direct cam action-no springs being necessary.

Preferably, each selector member is so frictionally engaged by the relevant comb or combs as to be lightly held in positions to which it is caused to be moved. The important reason for exercising a measure of frictional control over the selector members is to prevent the latter from being over-propelled in either direction.

Each selector unit also includes, in association with the selector members of the bank, catch means of any appropriate character for automatically engaging and retaining selected and un-selected selector members on their operative and inoperative positions respectively.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood and readily carried into practical effect, a specific constructional example thereof as applied to a multi-feed circular knitting machine of the stationary needle cylinder and revolving cam box type will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein,

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of so much of the head of the machine as is necessary to illustrate the application thereto of one of the selector units, the selector member-actuating means so far as they are shown in this figure being seen as viewed in the direction of the arrow A in FIG. 4,

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of a plurality of the selector units which rnove bodily in unison with the revolving cam box of the machine, and showing also the cam arranged for action upon the inner ends of previously selected selector members for the purpose of returning the latter to their outer positions preparatory to re-selection.

FIG. 3 is another vertical sectional view of the machine taken on the line III-III of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a plan view, including one of the selector units, and showing the control drum and associated mechanism for selectively actuating the bank of selector members,

FIG. 5 is a plan view of one of the selector units per se, showing the upper selector member of the bank held, by the catch means, in its inoperative position,

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view of the same taken on the line VI-VI of FIG. 5, and

F IG. 7 is a diagrammatic layout of the patterning butts on jack selecting pressers, as will be hereinafter described.

Referring to FIGS. l, 2 and 3, it will be seen that the illustrated circular knitting machine includes a stationary needle cylinder 1 formed with needle tricks 2. In the upper ends of these tricks are mounted individually operable latch needles 3 which are furnished with operating butts 3a (see FIG. 1). Beneath each needle 3 there is provided, in the same trick 2, a corresponding knitting instrument as hereinbefore defined in the form of a needleactuating jack 4. Each such jack has a depending spring extension 4a which is formed at its lower extremity with a butt 5. A jack 4 is selected if its extension 4a is pressed in, as shown in FIG. 1, to dispose its butt 5 clear of a jack raising cam 6 as a result of which the said jack and hence also the corresponding needle 3 will remain down. On the other hand, the butt 5 of any unselected jack 4 whose extension 4a is not so, pressed in will be acted upon by the jac raising cam 6 so that the jack and its needle will be raised. There is also provided in the same trick 2 as each needle 3 and its associated jack 4, in front of the depending extension 4a of the latter, a presser 7. This presser is arranged to fulcrum about the point 8 and is provided in one of a multiplicity of superimposed planes with a patterning butt 7a. Thus, whenever the patterning butt 7a on any presser is acted upon and pressed inwardly, the spring extension 4a of the corresponding jack 4 will also be pressed in with the result already described.

In the illustrated example, the patterning butts 7a, as will be seen in FIG. 7, are located in sixteen superimposed planes p and disposed in circumferentially spaced diagonal lines l around the stationary cylinder 1.

The latter is surrounded by a revolving cam box 9 mounted upon a ring 10 which is furnished with the main drive gear 11 of the machine.

There is attached by screws 12 to the cam box carrier ring 10, at each needle selecting station in advance of a feed, a selector unit SU. Each such unit comprises a bracket 13 to which are attached two pairs of opposed combs 14 adapted to receive the longitudinal margins of selector members in the form of radially extending and rectilinearly movable slides 15. Each comb 14 consists of a vertically disposed bar of iiat section the inner edge of which is regularly notched at 14a to receive the relevant margins of the slides 15. The latter, of which there are sixteen in the illustrated example, are disposed one immediately above another in a bank. Moreover, these individually movable selector slides, which are superimposed in the butt planes p are so frictionally engaged in the pairs of combs 14 as to be lightly held in positions to which they are caused to be moved. At its leading end each selector slide 15 is formed with a bevelled cam-like edge 15a which, whenever the slide is pushed radially inwards into its operative position, acts upon patterning butts 7a in the relevant plane p. At their tail, i.e., outer, ends 15b the slides 15 are adapted to be acted upon by individual programming levers 16 arranged in a vertical bank.

There is one programming lever 16 to each slide 15, the said levers being selectively operable under the control of a pattern-dictating strip 17 of film which is passed around a pattern drum 18 constituting a master control unit (see FIG. 4). This drum is supported on a stationary part 19 of the machine and is adapted to be racked round at desired intervals. The part 19, in the nature of a flat platform, is secured upon the bed plate 20 of the machine. The programming levers 16, which are controlled by tension springs 21, are mounted for turning about a vertical fulcrum pin 22. Each such programming lever 16 has two arms, viz. an arrn 16a having a nose 16b for action upon the outer ends 15b of slides 15 in the same plane as the said lever, and an arm 16e having a tapered tail end 16d.

In the strip of film 17 is formed a prearranged set-out of pattern-dictating apertures, the programming levers 16 each being provided with an inwardly directed feeler formation 23 adapted at the termination of each rack of the said drum, either to rest upon the outer surface of an un-apertured portion of the film or to penetrate an aperture in the latter depending upon the form of the film both at the relevant height and the appropriate circumferential location.

Those programming levers 16 whose feeler formations 23 at the termination of any one rack of the drum 18 rest upon the outer surface of an un-apertured portion of the pattern-dictating strip are the selected ones since as a consequence they are held in such positions as to enable them to be pushed outwards away from the drum (by means presently to be described) to render operative the corresponding selector slides 15 of the releavnt selector unit SU. On the other hand, the remaining programming levers 16 in the bank, whose feeler formations 23 penetrate apertures in the strip 17 are the unselected ones inasmuch as they are permitted to move under the infiuence of springs 21 into such positions as to prevent them from being pushed outwards, as a result of which the corresponding selector slides 15 remain unselected.

The master control mechanism includes a beater 24 which, immediately after each rack of the pattern drum 118, is moved to carry forward all the arms 16e of the unselected programming levers 16 so that their arms 16a are swung in to selectively push the corresponding selector slides 15 radially inwards into their operative positions. The tail ends 16d of the levers 16 are so tapered that, at the termination of each rack, there is a separation between the arms 16a` of the selected and the unselected programming levers respectively, this separation providing a space s for accommodation of the operative end 24a of the beater 24 which is common to all of the levers 16. The beater 24 is adapted, each time it has imparted thereto an operative movement, to miss and pass idly by the arms 16C of the unselected programming levers whilst simultaneously beating on the corresponding arms of the selected programming levers.

The beater 24 is controlled by a tension spring 25 (FIG. 2). Thus, whenever there is a re-selection of the levers 16, as a result of which the selected ones are merely held by the strip 17 whereas the feeler formations 23 of the unselected ones are released through apertures in the strip, the tapered tails 16d separate scissorwise. The operative part of the beater consists of a vertical blade attached to a component 26 in turn carried by an oscillatory lever 27. The latter is formed With a boss 27a through which extends a vertical spindle 28. The lower extremity of the spindle 28 has secured thereto an operating lever 29 (FIG. 4) adapted to be acted upon, to impart operative swings to the beater 24, by a cam C1 on on continuously driven cam shaft 30.

The pattern drum 18 is racked round by a pawl 31 engaging a ratchet wheel 32, the said pawl being pivotally mounted on a lever (not shown) arranged to be regularly actuated by a rotary racking Cam on the cam shaft 30.

To permit of racking of the pattern drum 18, a return beater 3 common to all of the programming levers 16 is provided to act on these levers and move them to the extent required to Withdraw their feeler formations 23 clear of the outer surface of the pattern-dictating strip 17. This return beater consists of a vertical blade which is attached to another oscillatory lever 34. The inner end of the lever 34 is formed with a boss 34a through which extends a vertical spindle 35. The lower extremity of the last mentioned spindle has secured thereto an operating lever 36 adapted to be acted upon at required times by a cam C2 on the rotary cam shaft 30 to impart operative swings to the return beater 33-against the action of a controlling tension spring 37.

In accordance with a characteristic feature of this invention there is provided on the stationary needle cylinder 1, immediately in advance of the location at which a reselection of the selector slides of each selector unit SU is effected, a cam 38 arranged, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, for action upon the leadings ends 15a of previously selected slides 15 and to return the latter to their outer inoperative positions preparatory to re-selection. The cam 38 is outwardly shaped, i.e. convex, in cross-section. The said returning carn, moreover, is vertically disposed, extending the full height of a bank of the selector slides 15, and being located in a recess 39 devoid of tricks 2 in the needle cylinder 1. That is to say, the cam is accommodated in a gap in the tricks. Screws 40 are employed to secure the returning cam 38 to the recessed portion of the wall of the cylinder.

lf, as will usually be the case, the machine is furnished with only one selector slide-returning cam 38, then the bank of slides 15 of each selector unit SU will be prepared for re-selection once per revolution of the cam box 9.

A single catch 41 in the nature of a suitably bevelled tooth-like detent extending the full height of, and common to, all the selector slides 15 of each bank is inwardly spring biassed for engagement in one of two triangular notches 42 and l43 formed in a longitudinal edge of each slide, the relative positioning of these notches respectively determining the operative and inoperative positions of a slide. Each time slides of a bank are selected and radially projected inwardly from their inoperative into their operative positions, by controlled action of the slide-actuating programming levers 16, the adjacent catch 41 will be idly pushed aside against the biassing inuence by the saw-shaped teeth 44 separating the notches in the slides-thereby permitting the catch to be automatically disengaged from the notch 42 and engaged in the notch 43 of each such selected slide. But before previously selected slides of each selector unit SU can be returned, by the cam 38 on the needle cylinder 1, to their inoperative positions preparatory to re-selection, the catch 41 of that unit must be positively released from engagement with the slides 15. For this purpose the catch 41 of each unit may advantageously, and as shown, be attached to a lever-like component 45 which is pivotally mounted within the bracket 13 of the unit, the said component being adapted to be turned about its axis a by a cam 46. Where, as is illustrated, the machine is of the revolving cam box type, the catch release cam 46 will, of course, be stationary. But where the machine is of the revolving needle cylinder type, then the catch release cam must revolve together with the cylinder. In any event, the pivoted catch has associated therewith an arrn 47 furnished with a roller 48 6 for engagement by the catch release cam 46 disposed in its path.

Referring to FIGS. l, 3, 5 and 6, it will be seen that the lever-like component 45 in each selector unit SU comprises two short horizontal arms 54a which are suitably spaced apart heightwise and intergally connected by a vertical tubular boss 45b through which extends, downwardly, a headed pivot pin 49. A transverse pin 50 rigidly connects the pivot pin 49 to the boss 45b. The upper end of the pivot pin 49 is turnable within a plain bearing 51 secured in a flat top portion 13a of the bracket 13. A lower portion of the pivot pin 49 is similarly turnable within a plain bearing 52 secured within the base of the same bracket. The lower extremity of the pin 49 extends right through and beyond the bearing 52 into a recess 53 formed by undercutting the base of the bracket at one side thereof. The arm 47 furnished with the roller 48 is rigidly secured to this lower extremity of the pivot pin. For biassing the catch 41 inwardly to ensure that it properly engages in one or the other of the two notches `42 and 43, the lever-like component 45 carrying the catch is controlled by a helical torsion spring 54 which surrounds the pivot pin 49 and has its opposite ends respectively engaged in the said component and with the bracket.

1 claim:

1. A multi-feed circular knitting machine including, in combination, a tricked needle cylinder; individually operable knitting instruments in said cylinder having patterning butts located in a multiplicity of superimposed planes and disposed in oblique lines around the cylinder; a plurality of selector units, one in advance of each knitting station, and each comprising a bracket with at least one comb and a bank of superimposed selector members, one in each butt plane, so engaged with the comb as to be individually moveable in the bracket, the said members being formed at their leading ends for action upon the patterning butts; means for action selectively upon the tail ends of the selector members whereby the latter are actuated selectively; and programmed control media at the dictates of which the said selector memberactuating means are selectively actuated; wherein the improvement resides in the provision on the needle cylinder, in advance of a location at which a re-selection of the selector members of each selector `unit is effected, a cam arranged for action upon the aforesaid leading ends of previously selected members suchwise as to return the latter to their inoperative positions preparatory to re-selection, and wherein the selector member-returning cam on the needle cylinder is convex in crosssection and extends vertically the full height of the banks of selector members.

2. A multi-feed circular knitting machine according to claim 1, wherein the selector members are so frictionally engaged by the combs on the brackets as to be lightly held in the positions to which the are moved.

3. A multi-feed circular knitting machine according to claim 1, wherein each selector unit includes catch means for automatically engaging and retaining selected and un-selected selector members in their operative and inoperative positions respectively.

4. A multi-feed circular knitting machine according to claim 1, wherein the selector member-returning cam is located in a gap, devoid of tricks, in the needle cylinder.

5. A multi-feed circular knitting machine according to claim 3, wherein the selector members are in the form of rectilinearly movable slides each having two notches formed in a longitudinal edge of the same, and the catch means of each selector unit include a toothlike detent which extends the full height of and is thus common to all the slides of the relevant bank and is inwardly biassed for engagement in one of the two notches of each slide, the relative positioning of these notches 7 respectively determining the operative and inoperative positions of a slide.

6. A multi-feed circular knitting machine according to claim 5, which includes means for releasing the catch means from engagement with the selector slides to permit previously selected slides to be returned, by the cam on the needle cylinder, to their inoperative positions preparatory to re-selection.

7. A multi-feed circular knitting machine according to claim 6, wherein the tooth-like detent of each selector unit is attached to a component which is pivotally mounted within the bracket of the unit and has an arm furnished with a roller, the machine including a catch release cam disposed in the path of and for action upon the said roller.

8. A multit`eed circular knitting machine including, in combination, a stationary tricked needle cylinder: individually operable needles in tricks in said cylinder; needle controlling jacks in the same tricks as the needles,

said jacks having depending resilient extensions each with an operating butt thereon; a cam box arranged to revolve around the cylinder; a jack raising cam housed in said box for action upon said operating butts; fulcrummed pressers mounted in the same tricks as the needles and jacks, in front of the latter and having thereon patterning butts located in a multiplicity of superimposed planes and disposed in oblipue lines around the cylinder, the pressing in of pressers resulting in jack extensions being pressed in to withdraw their operating butts from the path of the jack raising cam whereas the operating butts of jacks whose pressers are not so pressed in are permitted to engage the said cam; a plurality of selector units mounted to revolve together with the cam box, there being one such unit to each feed and each unit comprising a bracket with combs thereon and a bank of superimposed selector slides, one in each butt plane, so engaged with the combs as to be rectilinearly slidable individually in the bracket, the said slides being formed at their leading ends for action upon the patterning butts; programming levers for action selectively upon the tail ends of the selector slides whereby the latter are actuated selectively; and programmed control media at a stationary location at the dictates of which the programming levers are selectively actuated; wherein the improvement resides in the provision on the needle cylinder, in advance of a location at which a re-selection of the selector members of each selector unit is effected, a cam arranged for action upon the leading ends of previously selected selector slides suchwise as to return the latter to their inoperative positions preparatory to reselection, the selector slides being so frictionally engaged by the combs on the brackets as to be lightly held in the positions to which they are moved.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,754,668 7/1956 Deans et al. 66-154 3,023,595 3/1962 Wiesinger et al. 66-154X 3,093,987 6/1963 Zahradka et al. 66-154 3,224,226 l2/l965 Luchi 66-154X 3,391,549 7/1968 Fontaine 66-50 RONALD FELDBAUM, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. XR. 66-50 

